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Power of Investment

Good negotiators can use the power of investment two ways.

The first way is as a strategy to achieve concessions from one's opponent.

Concessions are typically hard to come by early in a negotiation.

They come easier when the bargaining or discussion phase takes a substantial amount of time (hours, days, weeks, etc.) Its success stems from a party saying to themselves, "I've been working on this deal for a long time. I need to have something to show for my efforts (investment of time)." Silly as it sounds, many will grant a concession just to have a result, even if it is contrary to what they would normally do.

Strategy: Get your opponent to invest more time. (Ask more questions, seek explanations of positions, etc.)

The second way to use the power of investment is to recognize that it works on us too. We have to be on guard to not make concessions, agree to deals or strike a bargain just because we have been working on it for a long time. A bad deal is a bad deal no matter how long or no matter what the investment has been.

Strategy: Don't agree to a deal just because you have a lot invested in it. We all like to have something to show for our efforts, but not something that we would regret later. How many times have we looked back and asked ourselves, "What was I thinking?" Maintain an exit strategy for use no matter how long you've been negotiating.

Remember, good negotiators know that the Power of Investment has the potential to work for us or against us. Tap that power as you KEEP Negotiating.